Editing Skirmish at Librarian's Rest

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Battle infobox
|name=Skirmish at Librarian's Rest
|prev=[[Second Raid on Control]]
|conc=
|next=[[Battle of Cyclone]]
|image=
|conflict=[[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]
*[[Requiem Campaign]]
|date=
|place="[[Librarian's Rest]]", [[Requiem]], [[Epoloch system]]
|result=*'''Jul 'Mdama's Covenant victory'''
**[[Jul 'Mdama]] escapes with Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] and one half of the [[Janus Key]]
*'''Minor UNSC victory'''
**Spartan [[Gabriel Thorne]] gets second half of the Janus Key
|side1=*[[United Earth Government]]
**[[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2=*[[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant]]
*[[Ur-Didact|Didact's]] [[Promethean]]s
|commanders1=*[[Captain]] [[Thomas Lasky]]
*Spartan [[Commander]] [[Sarah Palmer]]
*Spartan [[Paul DeMarco]]
|commanders2=*[[Supreme Leader]] [[Jul 'Mdama]]
|forces1=*[[Expeditionary Strike Group 1]]
**[[Spartan Operations]]
***[[SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IV]]s
****Spartan Commander [[Sarah Palmer]]
****[[Fireteam Majestic]]
|forces2=*Several [[Sangheili]]
*Several [[Promethean Knight]]s
|casual1=*None
|casual2=*Heavy
}}
{{Quote|Majestic, I have a personal favor to ask. Doctor Halsey has been abducted.|Captain Thomas Lasky<ref name="Key">''[[Spartan Ops]]'', [[Key|S109 Key]]</ref>}}
The '''Skirmish at Librarian's Rest''' was an engagement during the [[Requiem Campaign]] taking place at "[[Librarian's Rest]]" when Spartan [[Commander]] [[Sarah Palmer]] attempted to assassinate Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] and [[Fireteam Majestic]] attempted to rescue her.
==Prelude==
During the early stages of the [[Requiem Campaign]], at the location known as "[[the Cauldron]]," [[Spartan-IV|Spartan]] [[Fireteam Crimson]] recovered [[Requiem slipspace artifacts|a mysterious artifact]]<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Departure/Core|S101 Core]]</ref> which sucked in Doctor [[Henry Glassman]] when he accessed it aboard the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Artifact (Spartan Ops)|S102 Artifact]]</ref> Subsequently, Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] was brought aboard where she determined that the artifact was communicating information from the ship to Requiem.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Catherine|S103 Catherine]]</ref>

As Halsey later attempted to understand the artifact, [[Jul 'Mdama]] utilized it to contact Halsey via her [[data pad]] to entice her into helping him, offering Halsey the truth about a great many things, including the [[Promethean]]s.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Didact's Hand|S104 Didact's Hand]]</ref> As proof, Jul ensured that [[Fireteam Crimson]] retrieved "the [[Didact's Gift]],"<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Didact's Hand/The Didact's Gift|S104 The Didact's Gift]]</ref> a [[Durance]] containing the "soul" of a [[Promethean Knight]] who was originally a human digitized by the [[Composer]] during the [[New Phoenix Incident]]. Having provided proof, Jul further enticed Halsey by mentioning the [[Librarian]], but [[Commander]] [[Sarah Palmer]] noticed Halsey's suspicious behavior and Captain [[Thomas Lasky]] had her arrested.<ref>''Spartan Ops'', [[Memento Mori|S105 Memento Mori]]</ref> However, Halsey subsequently escaped using an override code on ''Infinity's'' AI [[Roland]] and made contact with Jul whose identity she quickly deduced. Halsey offered Jul her help with the Librarian, but the communication was cut off by Roland who regained control of himself and alerted the ship's crew to Halsey's actions. Jul subsequently launched [[Invasion of the UNSC Infinity|an invasion of the ship]]<ref name="Invasion">''Spartan Ops'', [[Invasion (Spartan Ops)|S107 Invasion]]</ref> that ended with a Promethean Knight abducting Halsey.<ref name="Expendable">''Spartan Ops'', [[Expendable|S108 Expendable]]</ref>

On Requiem, Halsey was brought to "[[Librarian's Rest]]" where she was able to deactivate the protective shield that Glassman had inadvertently activated and enter the shrine containing the [[Librarian]]'s [[mind transfer|imprint]].{{Ref/Reuse|Expendable}} In the shrine, Halsey met with the Librarian herself who provided Halsey with the [[Janus Key]], a Forerunner artifact that provided the real-time location of all Forerunner technology in the galaxy. The Librarian warned that Requiem's time was almost at an end and ordered Halsey to take the Janus Key to the [[Absolute Record]] before sending her back to "Librarian's Rest."{{Ref/Reuse|Key}}

After being alerted of the situation, [[Rear Admiral]] [[Serin Osman]] ordered Lasky to eliminate Halsey.{{Ref/Reuse|Expendable}} Despite Lasky's objections, Palmer deployed to Requiem to carry out the assassination while Lasky contacted [[Fireteam Majestic]], who had just delivered a [[Escape from Librarian's Rest|rescued]] Glassman to a [[D79H Pelican|Pelican]] and asked them to rescue Halsey.{{Ref/Reuse|Key}}

==Battle==
===Infiltrating the shrine===
Near the entrance to "[[Librarian's Rest]]," [[Commander]] [[Sarah Palmer]] silently assassinated at least one [[Sangheili]] as snuck inside. At the same time, [[Spartan-IV|Spartan]] [[Gabriel Thorne]] used the [[Type-3 active camouflage|active camouflage]] he had stolen from [[Gek 'Lhar]] to try to sneak past the guarding Sangheili. With one sensing his presence, Thorne decloaked to draw the guards' attention while [[Hoya]], [[Madsen]] and [[Tedra Grant|Grant]] fired down upon them from above and [[Paul DeMarco]] helped him on the ground, Thorne using his cloak to his advantage. DeMarco ordered Thorne to proceed while the rest of [[Fireteam Majestic]] dealt with the guards and Thorne recloaked to sneak the rest of the way inside.

Inside "Librarian's Rest," Halsey was expelled from the shrine following her encounter with the [[Librarian]]. [[Jul 'Mdama]] took one half of the [[Janus Key]] from her, failing to notice the second half that she still clutched. A cloaked Thorne assassinated one of the guards from behind and killed a second one with his assault rifle. Spotting Thorne, Halsey called out to him and threw Thorne her half of the Janus Key as Jul held Halsey in front of her and ordered his guards to kill the intruder.{{Ref/Reuse|Key}}

===Battle for Halsey===
As Thorne examined the Janus Key half, he was saved from an attack by a Sangheili by Palmer who had just arrived. Jul called for the [[Promethean]]s to protect him, causing [[Promethean Knight]]s to translocate in to battle the Spartans. Palmer attempted to kill Halsey with her [[M6H magnum]], but only succeeded in hitting Halsey in the shoulder.

As Thorne and Palmer engaged the Promethean defenders, the rest of [[Fireteam Majestic]] arrived to lay down covering fire, allowing Thorne and Palmer to fight their way through the Prometheans towards Jul who backed up against the shrine. Before they could reach him, a Promethean Knight teleported away with Jul, Halsey and half of the Janus Key as the Spartans cleared "Librarian's Rest" of all other enemies.{{Ref/Reuse|Key}}

==Aftermath==
After [[Jul 'Mdama]] escaped with Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]], Palmer confronted [[Fireteam Majestic]] about their presence. When [[Paul DeMarco]] explained that they had been ordered to rescue Halsey, Palmer angrily declared her to be a [[Treason|traitor]], only to have [[Gabriel Thorne]] reveal that Halsey had given him half of the [[Janus Key]].

With Halsey missing, Captain [[Thomas Lasky]] dispatched all Spartan fireteams from the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} and at least three {{Class|Vindication|light battleship}}s to search for her. [[Fireteam Crimson]] were able to trace Halsey's signal to several locations on [[Requiem]], but ultimately lost her.{{Ref/Reuse|Key}} Satisfied with what he had gotten, Jul returned to "[[the Cauldron]]" and set Requiem on a collision course with [[Epoloch system|its sun]], destroying the [[shield world]]. However, thanks to the efforts of Palmer and Fireteams Crimson and Majestic, the ''Infinity'' was able to escape the destruction with one half of the Janus Key while Jul got away with the other half. However, the attempt on her life causes Halsey to defect to Jul's side and offer him her help as she wants revenge.<ref name="Exodus">''Spartan Ops'', [[Exodus (Spartan Ops)|S1010 Exodus]]</ref>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 4]]''
**''[[Spartan Ops]]'' {{1st}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}
{{Engagements in the Requiem Campaign}}
[[Category:Jul 'Mdama's Covenant Victories]]
[[Category:UNSC Victories]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Librarian's Rest}}